Properties of Semiconductor and Magnetic Nanostructures

几乎所有的高科技产业都在不断地向更小、更高性能和更高效率的半导体、光电子和磁电子元件和器件发展。实现这些收益的关键是能够以越来越小的长度尺度制造结构，现在宽度接近十亿分之一米。如此小的结构通常以“纳米”一词作为前缀，意思是“十亿分之一”。该研究计划的目的是为理解半导体和磁性纳米结构所需的科学框架做出贡献，以及原子水平的变化如何影响完整设备的性能。为了研究结构，这种微小的，高度聚焦的电子探针在样品的表面上扫描，并测量产生的电流，产生的光以及从样品散射和通过样品的电子。通过研究这些电子如何与原子的独特排列相互作用，可以获得有关纳米尺寸器件如何工作的有价值的见解。这项研究的主要成果将是在纳米尺度上增加对半导体和磁性器件操作的理解，这将导致改善器件功能。此外，预计为表征和改进这些系统而开发的方法将在生物、化学和环境科学中找到交叉应用。加拿大将从这项工作中受益，培训高技能研究人员，提高加拿大高技术产业的竞争力。

There is a continual drive in nearly all high-technology industries towards smaller, higher performance and higher efficiency semiconductor, opto-electronic and magneto-electronic components and devices. Key to achieving these gains is the ability to manufacture structures at progressively smaller length scales, now approaching a billionth of a metre across. Structures this small are often prefixed by the term "nano" which implies "one billionth". It is the purpose of this research program to contribute towards the scientific framework necessary for understanding semiconductor and magnetic nano-structures and how changes at the atomic level can impact the performance of a complete device. In order to investigate structures this tiny, highly focused probes of electrons are scanned across the surface of a sample and the electrical currents generated, light produced, and the electrons scattered off of and through the sample are measured. By studying how these electrons interact with a unique arrangement of atoms, valuable insights can be gained into how nano-sized devices work. The main outcome of this research will be an increased understanding of the operation of semiconductor and magnetic devices at the nano-scale that will lead to improved device functionality. In addition, it is expected that the methodologies developed for characterizing and improving these systems will find cross applications in the biological, chemical and environmental sciences. Canada will benefit from this work through the training of highly skilled researchers that can contribute to the competitiveness of Canada's high-technology industries.